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Witnesses Describe Deadly NYC Apartment Fire

Witnesses at the scene of a deadly fire at an apartment building near the Bronx Zoo describe children with bare feet trying to escape the flames. Michael George reports. (Published Friday, Dec. 29, 2017)

What to Know

Twelve people, including a 1-year-old baby and several other children, were killed in a blaze near the Bronx Zoo on Thursday night

Four others were critically injured in the blaze on Prospect Avenue near East 187th Street and remained fighting for their lives Friday

Witnesses described the horror they saw unfolding before their eyes, including seeing children fleeing into the frigid air with no jackets

New Yorkers who witnessed the fast-moving fire in the Bronx that killed at least a dozen people described the horror they saw unfolding right before their eyes.

Among the 12 dead were several children, including a 1-year-old, officials familiar with the investigation told NBC 4 New York. Four other people were in critical condition and 12 more were rescued.

Witness Rafael Gonzalez said he saw the flames quickly leaping from apartment to apartment in the five-story, 25-unit building near the Bronx Zoo. He described how residents including children could be seen running for their lives down fire escapes -- some without shoes amid temperatures in the low teens and even colder wind chills.

Thierno Diallo, 59, a security guard originally from Conakry, Guinea, who lives in a ground floor apartment said he was asleep when he heard banging on the door. It took him a moment to realize what was happening.

"Only when I heard people screaming, 'There's a fire in the building!'" he said. "I heard somebody, 'Oh! Fire! Fire! Fire!'"

Twum Bredu, 61, arrived in the neighborhood looking for his brother, who had been staying with a family in the building. The family, a husband and wife and four children, got out. But there was no word yet about his brother.

"I've been calling his phone, it's ringing, but nobody picks up," Bredu said. "He was in his room, and we don't know what happened."

It was the worst fire in New York City since 87 people were killed at a social club fire in the Bronx in 1990.